Romans: Gospel of Grace

Introduction

Pastor Tony, was shocked to hear that his friend Charlie, who had been a college Bible professor for many years, suddenly quit his job and started working as a postal carrier. After talking about the change, Tony said, “Charlie, if you’re going to be a mailman, then be the best mailman you can be.”

Charlie thought for a minute and then said, “Tony, I’m a lousy mailman. I’m the last to get back to the office every day and I can’t sleep at night.” Tony asked him to explain why that is. Charlie said, “There are so many lonely people on my route who never had anyone visit them until I became their mailman. And besides, have you ever tried to sleep after drinking 15 cups of coffee in one day?”

Charlie might be sleep deprived, but he was alive with excitement because he had finally found his purpose. We just finished our Driven series where we learned all about our purpose as a church and our purpose as individuals. We learned that our purpose and our passion drives us. Max Anders said,

“There is nothing so debilitating as life without purpose. Conversely, there is nothing so energizing as life filled with purpose. A life purpose will bring focus and drive to anyone.”

Today we begin our study of Romans. This is my favorite book of the Bible. I love reading and studying it and I continue to learn more each time I do. I certainly hope that you will get a glimpse of the many reasons why I love Romans as we spend the next few months delving into it.

Romans was written by the Apostle Paul. Paul wrote many letters to various gatherings of individuals who were followers of Jesus. Paul called these gatherings an ekklesia, which is Greek for assembly or church. Some of these gatherings were groups that Paul had brought together as a church plant; like what we are doing at Elevate Church.

This particular gathering was comprised of both Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews) that apparently had come together without any direct involvement from Paul or any of the 12 Apostles of Jesus. The Roman Catholic Church claims that Peter was the founder of the church in Rome, but there is no evidence that Peter was in Rome at the time that this gathering had begun. It is more likely that this gathering was started by those who had heard about Jesus from Peter in Jerusalem or Paul on one of his missionary trips and went back to Rome where they started meeting together as followers of Jesus. 

It is important that we understand who Paul was so that we can understand why this letter is so important. We want to learn his purpose and his passion. Romans 1:1 (HCSB)

“Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle and singled out for God’s good news.”

Called By God (verses 1-6)

Paul tells the church at Rome that he was called as an apostle, but yet Paul was not one of the original 12 apostles that traveled with Jesus during His life on earth. Jesus chose 12 men from among the many disciples that followed Him and appointed them as His apostles. After Judas betrayed Jesus and following the resurrection of Jesus, the remaining 11 apostles elected a replacement for Judas from among the many disciples that had traveled with Jesus during His 3 years of ministry on earth.

Paul’s calling was somewhat different. We can read about his story and his calling in Acts 9. Paul was known by a different name back then…Saul. Many assume that Paul changed his name or that God changed his name after he became a follower of Jesus, but the truth is that Saul was his name in Hebrew and Paul was his name in Latin. Same name, just 2 different languages. For some reason Luke when he wrote the book of Acts suddenly switches from Saul to Paul in Acts 13, perhaps because Paul was primarily working with non-Jews/non-Hebrew speaking people by that time.

Back in Acts 9 we see that Saul was on his way to Damascus with papers in his hand that would allow him to arrest anyone that belonged to what they called, the Way, or believers and followers of Jesus. On his journey, a bright light blinds Saul and he hears a voice ask, “Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” Saul calls out, “Who are You, Lord?” and the voice responds, “I am Jesus, the One you are persecuting.” Jesus then tells Saul to go to a home in Damascus where he will be told what to do.

While waiting in the home, a believer named Ananias was called by God to go and lay his hands on Saul to restore his sight because he had called Saul to be his messenger to the Gentiles. As soon as Saul had received his sight, he was baptized, signifying that he had accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. He then started to proclaim Jesus, but many of the followers of Jesus were afraid of Saul because he had recently been arresting and killing Christians.

After several attempts to be accepted by the Jewish Christians, Saul secluded himself into the dessert near Damascus for 3 years while the Holy Spirit instructed him about the Word of God. There is very little known about this period of his life, but Paul shared in his second letter to the church in Corinth that he either had a vision or was bodily present in heaven where he heard things that man is not allowed to speak. Paul records in his letter 6 other times that he had a vision from God, but with this one Paul was unsure whether it was a vision or a real experience.

Sometime after his 3-year seclusion, Paul is sent by the church in Antioch, along with Barnabas, to go as missionaries to the Gentiles. Paul went on 3 missionary journeys throughout the Roman empire. For more than a decade Paul took his message to the non-Jews (Gentiles) before writing this letter to the church in Rome. During that time Paul had seen that many Jews also were becoming followers of Jesus and joining the church. When Paul wrote this letter in AD 57, the church in Rome was comprised of both Jews and Gentiles that were worshipping Jesus together. Paul eventually saw his ministry transform into one of uniting the Jews and Gentiles into one body of believers. 

Committed to the Romans (verses 7-15)

Paul was not only called by God, but we can see in the book of Romans that Paul is also committed to the church in Rome. Paul had spent most of his ministry starting new churches and we will see in Romans that he still desires to do that. Paul sees the church in Rome as an important body of believers because they are evidence of God’s transformational power. The church in Rome had grown large without any direct involvement from any of the 12 Apostles or Paul. These followers of Jesus were doing the work of sharing the Good News about Jesus Christ.

Paul also saw that the church in Rome could be a powerful partner in his mission to spread the Gospel of Jesus throughout the world. In Romans 15 we can see Paul’s desire to use Rome as a launching point to take the message of Jesus to Spain. Listening to this from the Holman Commentary:

“[Paul] also knew that in order for the church at Rome to serve as the base for his future apostolic ministry, it needed to be convinced of the purpose and power of the gospel—the very gospel that he was preparing to take to Spain and beyond. They would need to understand its power to save both Jew and Gentile because all stood equally condemned before God. They would need to be clear on how one receives salvation. They would need to know what salvation looks like in the life of the believer (sanctification), and they would need to understand why it was imperative that Paul take the gospel beyond Rome to the Gentile nations, and how his mission related to the promises of God given to the Jews (Rom. 9–11).”

Paul was committed to a partnership with the Romans and used the bulk of his letter to the church in Rome to share about the purpose for his ministry. Paul explains everything he wanted the church to know that would equip them for playing a major role in his ministry. Paul does not hide the fact that this letter is purpose-oriented. He wrote it in order to achieve his purpose directly—to partner with the church in Rome so that he can continue to share the Gospel in other nations—and that meeting the church’s needs are a byproduct of that purpose.

This gathering in Rome was a large group of believers, and it is also believed that it included some influential people. The Romans had a more lavish lifestyle than in other parts of the empire. That would have been true for Jews and non-Jews that lived there. So we can conclude that the church in Rome was more financially secure than most of the churches that Paul had contact with during his missionary trips. He saw that they could be valuable partners in his goal to reach Spain.

This is something that I have experienced often as we work to start Elevate Church. I am constantly contacting churches throughout the country in order to share my purpose and passion for reaching the people of Eastport with the message of God’s transforming power. I do this because I know that these established churches can play a major role in our ministry here. We have partner churches that run more than a 1000 people each week and some that run 50 on a good Sunday. Together they help support us through prayer, people, and provisions.

Paul was also committed to the Romans because he had learned much over his years of ministry that he knew could help this church. Paul was full of insights and spiritual wisdom concerning the uniting of Jews and Gentiles together. The church in Rome was obviously an example of this unity in practice, but Paul knew that there were things that God had taught him that would benefit the church as they worked together for God’s purposes. Paul was called by God and he was committed to the Romans. Paul was also convinced of the power of the gospel.

Convinced of the Gospel Power (verses 16-17)

The gospel message has the power to transform lives. Paul wants us to understand that sharing the gospel is the most important thing we could do. Romans 1:16 & 17 (HCSB)

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in it God’s righteousness is revealed from faith to faith.”

It is through that gospel and God’s righteousness that the church can unite diverse people together into one body. Paul explains this in detail in Romans 12-16. It is possible to build a healthy, growing church that is made up of people from every nation, every race, and every language.

It is possible for Elevate Church to reach people that are blue collar and white collar; democrats, republicans, green party, and independents; sports fanatics and comic-con nerds; musicians and hearing impaired; joggers and cripples; fat and thin; straight-A students and flunkies; black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Jews, and even Arabs. All people can and will one day ultimately be united under the righteousness of God.

While the book of Romans was a letter written to a specific church almost 2000 years ago, it is a book that can speak to our church today. Are we as passionate about the gospel as the Apostle Paul? This book will explain why we should be. Are we as driven to fulfill God’s calling on our lives as the Apostle Paul? This book will challenge us to be. Are we as committed to Elevate church as Paul was to the church in Rome? This book will help us see that we should be.